Summary

Florida state Rep. Susan Valdes, a lifelong Democrat, abruptly switched to the Republican Party, citing frustration with being ignored in the Democratic caucus.

Valdes, who represents District 64 near Tampa, said she wants to focus on solving problems for her community rather than protesting.

Her defection bolsters the Florida GOP’s historic 86-34 House majority, drawing criticism from Democrats who called her move a betrayal of her constituents.

Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, welcomed Valdes, praising her as a strong community advocate and valuable addition to their party.

  • frog_brawler@lemmy.world
    5·
    17 days ago

    Mixed opinions… as someone that lived in FL for 30 years and just got out in October, my observation of the previous 8 years has been that the FL DNC was just the JV team of the FL GOP. You’d legitimately have zero support to accomplish anything at all as a member of the DNC in FL.

    If you want to be an effective politician in FL, my opinion is that It’s best to just join the GOP and then turncoat into a socialist (but still keep the R tag next to your name). Being a member of the Democratic Party in FL is akin to a death sentence, or simply being ignored into irrelevancy.